Sunday, June 22, 2008

Actually, I never left technology until I retired to write full time. Technology paid the bills for years, and yet, I have so many regrets. I was one of those women who worked holidays, weekends, endless hours of OT. Survived a gazillion layoffs. Once I did the work of four people.

I missed a fabulous wedding. I didn't fly out for my mother's broken ankle, her move various moves, her cancer treatment. I couldn't leave my important projects and I managed everything via long distance.

Do I regret it? Absolutely. Will I ever forgive myself. Never ever. Do I remember the projects that were so important I couldn't leave? No clue.

Women with more sense than I had are leaving technology. I know and admire a few former colleagues who threw in the towel and left.

I had a manager who never told us we had 3 personal days a year. I worked like a sweat shop slave, coming in every weekend for months. Was management there? Hell no. In the end, they said, "Ben's people are overpaid." I heard "you are mainframe dinosaurs and no one will ever hire you."

Someone did. And I moved from the frying pan to the fire. Some incompent people had the grace to say "thank you," and mean it when we delivered Y2K with no bugs.

Some SOB's never said thank you. They are still running the company, firing loyal hardworking people right and left. "Eliminating" jobs. Bull shit. Corporate America is the most venal, calulating place you can imagine.